LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



(SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT.) 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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ON THE DEATH 

OF 

GENERAL. HARRISON 

LATE PRESIDENT 
OF THE 

TOJHHBB SffATlBi 

PREACHED IN ST. MATHEWS CHURCH, FRANCISV1LLE, 
PHILADELPHIA, ON SUNDAY, 18th APRIL 1841, 

BY THE 
V 

REV. JACOB M. DOUGLASS. 



"Fof death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces." 

Jeremi. 9. v 21. 



Printed by H. Probasco, No. 119 Korth Fourth Street 



1841. 

v. 

i 



1 



EI" -3R 2 
0^3 



A DISCOURSE. 



'•'■For death is come up into our windoivs,and is entered 
into our palaces." — Jeremi. 9. v. 21. 

These are the words of Jeremiah, when beholding, by 
the eye of prophecy, the future calamities of Jerusalem and 
Judah. He speaks of the desolating judgments, which 
were to befall the Jews, when their country should be in- 
vaded by the Chaldean armies. The prophet, in powerful 
and affecting language, depicts the confusion which should 
spread through the land, the havoc and slaughter, which 
would accompany the march of the victorious troops, and 
the better privations and accumulated miseries which would 
befall the victims at once of the fury of the oppressor, and 
of the anger of God. 

You will naturally conclude, however, from the charac 
ter of the text, from the gloomy aspect of this place of 
worship, and from the events which have lately transpired 
in our land, that I have selected this expressive phrase, as 
appropriate to an attempt to moralize on the decease of our 
late President. And having adverted to the literal signifi- 
cation of the text, I shall proceed, with the Lord's blessing, 
to consider several lessons of wisdom, which we may learn 
from our late bereavement. 

Indeed, we have assembled under circumstances of dark- 
ness and trouble. We have met to deplore the loss of a 
chief magistrate, who, but a month ago, assumed the chair 
of state under auspices the most brilliant and propitious. — 



He had been raised by the voice of the million to guide the 
helm of government. The tongue of opposition had ceased 
—the clouds which had lowered over our commercial hori- 
zon had begun to disperse — the bow of promise had ap- 
peared, — and the freemen of our Republic had begun to 
flatter themselves that an era of political happiness was now 
about to dawn. But the Lord God Omnipotent spoke the 
word, and the hopes of the people of America were blasted. 
The man whom they loved, whom they caressed, whom 
they idolized, was removed from them, that God might 
declare his sovereignty, and rebuke the unrighteous and 
unhallowed hopes of men,who looked to an arm of flesh, and 
placed that confidence in princes, which the Almighty has 
claimed exclusively for himself. 

To use the language of President Tyler, " the death of 
William Henry Harrison, late President of the United States, 
so soon after his elevation to that high office, is a bereave- 
ment peculiarly calculated to be regarded as a heavy afflic 
tion, and to impress all minds with a sense of the uncer- 
tainty of human things, and of the dependence of Nations, 
as well as of individuals upon our Heavenly Parent." 

I do not come before you this day, my friends, as a party 
man, or as a politician. I do not stand here as a man of 
the world, or as a historian. Were I to come here with 
mere worldly feelings, and worldly principles, and worldly 
views, I would point every young man to the elevation of 
General Harrison. I would say to every young man here, 
you have it in your power to arrive at the same honors and 
dignities that Harrison enjoyed. By diligence, by improve- 
ment of your time and your talents, — by obeying the ra- 
tional demands of the people, by always consulting their 
true and proper interests, — by never forfeiting their confi- 



5 

tfence for selfish ends — by resisting the inordinate love of 
money, (the bane and curse of political aspirants,) you may, 
by the blessing of God, rise to the enjoyment of the loftiest 
station in the gift of a generous and discerning people — 
But I do not come here as a political character. This 
sacred day on which we have met, this house of God in 
which we have been kneeling, this holy book, this altar, 
this pulpit to-day clad in her sombre attire — all remind me 
of the sacredness of the duty imposed on me, — they remove 
from me the considerations of earth, and lead me to direct 
my thoughts and meditations to Heaven. 

In the death of our beloved President, we behold the 
hand of God. It is an axiom of scripture, that God exer- 
cises a particular superintending providence over nations 
as well as individuals. 

Nations being composed of individuals, if he exercises 
such a providence over the individuals, he must necessarily 
do the same over the nation composed of those individuals. 
Proofs in support of the particular Providence of God, 
exercised over individuals, are abundant in scripture. Time 
will not permit me to adduce them. The subject, however, 
requires that something should be said concerning God's 
special providence over nations. 

The history of the Jewish nation affords a multitude of 
these ; so that he must be more than blind, who asserts 
that such a providence was not exercised over them. If 
this be granted, we ask, why is it not exercised over other 
nations'? It is unquestionable, that if the same providence 
in kind be not exercised over other nations, which was ex- 
ercised over the Jews, there is an uncertainty in the dispen- 
sations of that providence, utterly inconsistent with the les- 
sons of the word of God on that subject. If no such provi- 



6 

dence be exercised over them, they cannot be responsible 
as nations, but we know that they are responsible. Again 
and again, it is said, that God is governor of the nations. — 
In the most explicit manner, we are assured that Christ i3 
Prince of the kings of the earth. If so, are not kings and 
nations responsible to God and his Christ ? If responsible, 
they must be in their official and national capacity the sub- 
jects of his care and government.* In the prophecies of 
Daniel, (not to quote the other prophets,) the rise, the con- 
duct, and the termination of the four great empires of the 
world, the Babylonian, the Persian, the Grecian and the 
Roman, are exhibited to us, as originating in, and directed 
by, the Special Providence of God. " Blessed be the name 
of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are his, 
and he changeth the times and the seasons, he removeth 
kings and he setteth up kings." " His kingdom ruleth over 
all." There is something infinitely sublime in the declara- 
tions of scripture, respecting the Providence of God. When 
politicians tell us only of the agency of secondary causes 
and talk only of the course of events, and laws of nature, 
when they assert, that the death of our President was only 
owing to his age, and the exhausting nature of his official 
engagements, the reflecting Christian will refer it to the 
agency of an All-Wise and All-Merciful First Cause. 

In the death of the revered Harrison, we behold an ex- 
hibition of the Sovereignty of God. Here was a man 
that rose from an humble station in the army, to the com- 
mand of armies. When the war was ended, he occupied 
several civil offices with distinguished reputation. And, at 
length, he was elevated, by the voice of millions of his 
countrymen, to the loftiest station on earth, — to the com- 

*Vide Romeyn's sermons. 



mand of an empire, which reaches from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific, and from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. 
When he was seated in the chair of state, an auspicious 
era had begun. A long and arduous election was over, the 
intense and exciting feeling, which had pervaded the whole 
length and breadth of the land, had been allayed, and men 
looked for the enjoyment, under him, of quietness and har- 
mony and prosperity. But they looked to the newly made 
President — they looked to man — they lavished their idolatry 
on the creature, and forgot the Creator ; — and God was 
determined to rebuke their creature worship and make an 
emphatic display of his Sovereignty. Oh ! the angel of 
death, at the stern bidding of Jehovah, took not an obscure 
individual — he removed not the shame and the reproach of 
the land — he went not into the dungeon to arrest the viola- 
ter of the laws of God and man — he went into the palace 
of the nation, and tore away the brightest gem in the dia- 
dem of America's glory ! Well may we say in the language 
of the saints, as storied by the mystic John, "Great and mar- 
vellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty ; just and true 
are thy ways, thou king of saints !" 

In the death of General Harrison, we behold the insta- 
bility of all human greatness. 

Here was a man raised to the pinnacle of human grandeur. 
Here was a man exalted to sway the destinies of an empire 
greater than that of any Sovereign of Europe or Asia. He 
was honoured with a chair, which has occupied the reveries 
of the day, and the dreams of the night of many an ambi- 
tious aspirant — a chair which confers upon its possessor 
great power, and great wealth, and great patronage — a 
chair, which none beside himself and the immortal Wash- 
ington, ever desired to quit after they had once enjoyed its 
consequence and magnificence. He was " the observed of 



8 

all observers." But God spake the word, and this pomp, 
and this state, and this grandeur must be abandoned and 
abandoned forever. 

" The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 
Await, alike, the inevitable hour; 
The paths of glory lead— but to the grave." 

By the death of President Harrison, the Lord rebukes 
the exacerbations of party spirit. Party spirit has oflate 
risen to an extraordinary height. The party spirit of our 
people is most degrading and injurious to us. It renders us 
abhorrent in the eyes of the thoughtful and discerning 
among foreign nations, and it is the object of shame and 
mortification of the pious and the wise among our citizens. 
It is like the canker-worm. It frets and gnaws and corrodes 
the vitals of the body politic. Party spirit, probably, when 
acting with moderation, may be useful by causing the party 
in power to act with more caution, more sense of propriety, 
with more reference to the will of the nation. But, of late, 
it has leaped over all bounds of equity, and justice and 
moderation. It has invaded the retirement of private life, 
and the sanctities of religion. No age, no sex, no character 
has been spared. A long life of virtue and labour and zeal 
in the service of the country, is assailed and blasted. The 
secrets of the families of candidates for office, are torn open, 
and wantonly and maliciously spread before the public 
gaze. Yes ! the sin of party spirit is rebuked, in the afflict- 
ing bereavement we have this day met to deplore, in the 
most loud and emphatic and alarming language. 

By the death of our beloved President, the Lord rebukes 
the irreligious complexion of our government. Our govern- 
ment has been styled by foreigners, an irreligious govern- 
ment. This is probably too severe an animadversion. But 



I do say, that while there are so many churches and pious 
people in our land — while our various Christian denomina- 
tions exhibit as many members as those of other nations — 
it is just and proper that the moral sense of the religious 
part of the community should be more respected. But how 
seldom is it that the Chief Magistrate of the Union calls on 
the whole population to fast and pray, and humble them- 
selves before God ! How seldom is it that the Governor of 
this Commonwealth calls us to these hallowed duties ! How 
frequently has our Congress during the latter part of the 
session, sat on the holy Sabbath-day ! How little respect is 
paid to the moral sense of the community, when our Legis- 
lators challenge one another to single combat on the falsely 
styled field of honour ! And how is the religious commu- 
nity forced to blush for the vulgarities, and the bullying, and 
the blackguardism which are exhibited on the floor of the 
national councils ! 

Wealth and power and genius, are unfriendly to religion. 
" Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, 
not many noble are called." The palace of the rich man, 
and the chair of state, and the study of the professor are, 
most usually, too lofty for the religion of the humble Jesus. 
But still, every account that has reached us of late, goes to 
show that the heart of General Harrison was inclined to 
religion. A lady has related that she belonged to a Bible 
Class in Cincinnati, which was taught by General Harrison. 
And it is said by the Rev. Mr. Hawley, a clergyman of our 
Church, in Washington, that the President had intended to 
come forward, the Sunday after he was taken sick, to the 
Lord's table in the Episcopal Church. But we intrust him 
to the mercies of that God, who has said " though our sins 
were as scarlet, they shall be (if we only come to Christ) 
as white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they 



10 

shall be as wool." "As a father pitieth his children, so doth 
the Lord pity them that fear Him. The Lord knoweth 
whereof we are made, He remembereth that we are dust." 

On Tuesday next, if God spare our lives, there will be a 
magnificent spectacle. You will see companies of Infantry, 
and bands of Firemen, and bands of Temperance men, and 
members of Literary Associations. And there will be bay- 
onet, and sword, and flag, and banner, and crape, and pall, 
and mournful and soul-thrilling music. And the solemn 
pageant will pass before you, and will wind its way down 
the street and then will disappear. And the tones of the 
funeral dirge shall linger sad and melancholy on the ear, and 
then shall die away. So shall it be with the world. The 
world passeth away and the fishion thereof. O, my hear- 
ers ! my dear hearers ! let us be found in Christ — let us be 
hid in Christ, and when this world shall pass away, when 
the earth shall be burned up, and when the heavens shall 
be rolled together as a scroll, we shall have a building of 
God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens. 

The death which we have assembled this day to com- 
memorate, impresses on all classes of men, the necessity 
of preparation for their own departure from the world.— 
We see that no station, or office, or external distinctions 
can ward off the approach of death. It is evident, that we 
must all die, and be as water spilled on the ground, which 
cannot be gathered up again. The sting of death is sin. 
How important, then, is it to have sin pardoned, — how mo- 
mentous to be ready for our summons into another world ! 
And what saith the scripture? "Except ye repent, ye shall 
all perish." Have you then repented ? Have you mourned, 
and confessed, and sought the pardon of your sins? " Ex- 
cept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of 
God." Have you, then, been born again? Have you been 



11 



converted? Have you been renewed in the spirit of your 
minds ? 

" Without holiness, no man can see the Lord." Are you 
holy ?— are you praying for the sanctifying influences of 
the Spirit ? Are you acquiring increasing conformity to the 
' Divine image 1 Are you (in a few words) making Jesus the 
foundation of your hope, your example, the source of your 
strength and joy ? Are you withdrawing your affections 
from the world, and aspiring after the purity, the love and 
the joy of Heaven ? Can you say, "for me to live is Christ ;" 
then, to die will be your gain. Then the day of your de- 
cease will be the day of your translation, and from your 
meaner or more magnificent abode, you will ascend to the 
palace of light and glory, and reign, as kings and princes, 
for ever and ever. 

That solemn crisis fast approaches, when earthly things 
shall pass away for ever. The sun, which shines in yon- 
der firmament — the moon, that walks in the brightness of 
her heavenly path, and those stars, which beautify the up- 
per sphere, shall disappear — shall fall— -fall like the leaves 
of the forest befor the mighty tempest. 

Those " heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and 
the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth 
also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up."—- 
And amidst this awful convulsion, the kings and the cap- 
tains, and the merchants of the earth, and all who have 
remained rebels against the Prince of righteousness and 
peace, shall howl and lament because of the miseries which 
shall come on them. They shall call, but call vainly, on 
the rocks and mountains, to hide them from the tace of 
Him, who sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of 
the Lamb. * 



'Vide Clayton's sermons. 



12 



But amidst this wreck of matter, and this crush of worlds, 
you who have fled to Jesus as your hope, and have submit* 
ted to his rightful sovereignty, and devoted yourselves to 
his service — you, fellow travellers to Zion — you, soldiers 
of the cross— you shall smile — smile in the calmness of 
composure, and the transports of holy joy. You shall have 
done for ever, with the mean abode of earth, and shall en- 
ter the palace of heaven. ! what splendours, what rap- 
tures, what glories, what joys await you there ! " Eye hath 
not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart 
of man to conceive the things which the Lord hath prepared 
in heaven, for them that love him." 

Let us prepare to meet our God, and these glories shall 
be ours. 







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